


Repentance

by XxXShinigamiXxX



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: M/M, fairy tail - Freeform, stingro, stingue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxXShinigamiXxX/pseuds/XxXShinigamiXxX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been six years after Rogue killed Sting. But the white dragon slayer's soul is still filled with regret and is unable to pass on. The only one who could save him is Rogue. Only the one who ended his life could save him; before his soul gets corrupted and everything will be too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repentance

For years he had been wandering Fiore as a restless spirit. Unable to find peace. He still regretted so many things. The biggest thing he regretted was that he wasn't able to protect Rogue from the darkness that dwelled deep inside his heart. He had always known it was there and for a very long time, he was able to keep that shadow away from Rogue.

But when Frosch died -killed by Gray- he failed keeping the shadows from taking Rogue over and before he knew it, he became a spirit; forced to watch how Rogue plunged even deeper into the darkness.

While wandering, he lost sight of Rogue. He cried out to him, begged for him to come back, but Rogue never responded. His cries sounded like howls to the few people who were still alive, frightening them even more in this world of chaos and destruction.

All of this guilt, all of his sorrow. It tore his soul apart. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any peace. He was unable to pass on. He didn't want to pass on even. He wanted, no, _needed_ to talk to Rogue one last time. There still were so many things he needed to say to him and he hoped he could tell those things soon, because it wouldn't be much longer before Sting's soul got corrupted, unable to pass on at all.

The more time passed, the more Sting's soul got corrupted by the regrets he still had of when he was still alive. Memories of that fated time kept playing in his head like a movie, over and over and over again. Every time, he was forced to remember how he lost Rogue to the shadows. How useless he was in not being able to prevent it when it really mattered. He was just an awful best friend.

***  
Sting wasn't there when Frosch died. Rogue went out on a job alone since Sting was too preoccupied with his work as a guild master, too busy protecting what was left of his guild and Fiore. How he regretted he didn't join Rogue. Perhaps if he was there with him, he could have made a difference.

All Sting remembered from that time was that Rogue set out together with Frosch to deal with a dark guild named 'Avatar'. They had dealt with dark guilds before, so Rogue thought he could handle it alone without Sting; since last time they fought against a dark guild, the fight was pretty one-sided. Sting did most of the work back then.

When Rogue returned back to the guild, clothes tattered and looking rather beat up, Sting noticed there was something awfully going wrong with the shadow dragon slayer. Frosch wasn't with him. This wasn't looking good at all. Worriedly, Sting asked where Frosch was. Rogue's answer was clear:

"Frosch is dead. Gray killed him."

The shadow dragon slayer gnarled his teeth and dug his nails in the palms of his hands. His body started shaking in pain.

"If only I was stronger. I could have protected Frosch!"

At that moment, Sting knew if he didn't do something quickly, the shadows deep inside of Rogue's heart would take over. He hugged Rogue tightly, telling him they would get back at Avatar together. That they would avenge Frosch's death together. But...

Sting's words didn't seem to get through Rogue at all.

"If only Acnologia didn't appear! Then we wouldn't be in this mess and Frosch would still be here! It's all Acnoligia’s fault! I'll kill him. I’LL KILL HIM!!!"

Sting felt how Rogue suddenly dug his nails into his back. Before he could even say anything, Rogue lifted his head. The look in his eyes told Sting only one thing:

The shadows already took him over.

"Sting, give me your Dragon Lacrima."

That request baffled Sting completely. Rogue wanted him to give him his Dragon Lacrima? But, it was something Weisslogia embedded in his body, giving it up would mean tearing it out of his body!

Rogue didn't leave any room to negotiate. Before Sting knew it, the shadow dragon slayer attacked. Everything happened so fast afterwards.

All Sting remembered from that fated day was that he was viciously attacked by his best friend. Shadows clashed into his body, his flesh being torn apart by it. He felt the bones in his body breaking; his skull felt like it could explode any minute now. Blood gushed out of every possible wound he received. 

But even if Rogue wounded him, the wounds itself wasn't what hurt the most to Sting. What really hurt him was that he wasn't able to defeat the shadows that had controlled his best friend, that his voice wasn't able to reach Rogue anymore. That he was _failing_ in his task to keep Rogue safe.

It was then the final blow came.

Suddenly appearing before him, Sting felt how Rogue drove his hand through his chest, grabbing hold of something tightly. With a loud roar and one swift move, Rogue tore Sting's Dragon Lacrima out of his chest. The moment he did, Sting vomited blood before falling down the ground.

That moment, Sting was forced to watch how Rogue ate his Dragon Lacrima, becoming the white shadow dragon slayer. Part of his hair turned white and his power increased dramatically. Sting was unable to do a thing except for gasping for air and hanging onto the last remains of his life.

"Sting. I've gotten stronger, see?"

When Rogue turned around, there was a vile smile playing around his lips. But as soon as he laid eyes on a dying Sting, his eyes opened wide, shock was written all over his face. In that small moment, the Rogue Sting knew was in control over himself again.

"S-Sting?"

Dropping on his knees next to the dying blonde, Rogue didn't dare to touch him. He could only stare in horror at what he had done; tears started to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Wh-What have I done? What have I been doing? Sting!"

With the last of his remaining strength, Sting raised a hand, placing it against Rogue's cheeks. With his thumb, he wiped the tear away while trying to smile at the broken hearted white shadow dragon slayer.

He wanted to tell him it was okay. That he didn't blame Rogue at all for doing this. That the fault lied with him. He was the one who failed protecting him. He couldn't keep his promise in the end. But...

Sting didn't have enough strength to say all of that. So with his last couple of breaths he said the one thing he always wanted to tell Rogue:

"Rogue... Love... you."

After that, everything with black. Only the sound of a very painful cry sounded through the darkness before even that faded away.

That marked the end of the White Dragon Slayer of Sabertooth.

***  
When Sting opened his eyes again, he was standing on a flat stone. His grave. When he looked up at the sky, Acnologia flew over, roaring loudly. Together with the King of Dragons, Sting let out a cry. A cry of pain, agony and despair.

He wanted to see Rogue. He wanted to see Rogue so badly!

And so he wandered. He kept wandering and wandering till he found his way back to the flat stone. Was he ever going to see his best friend again? Was he ever going to be able to relay his message? Was he ever going to tell Rogue about his true feelings?

"S-Sting?"

Turning around, Sting saw a person standing before him, looking at him in pure shock. Even with his long, white hair, a black bang covering his right eye and markings on the left side of his face, Sting knew this was Rogue.

"Th-This can't be! You're supposed to be--"

"Rogue!!"

Sting cried out to his best friend, running towards him while tears streamed down his face. Rogue shocked back, still feeling very confused. Sting wanted to hug him, but sadly, since he was a wandering spirit, he could not touch Rogue anymore and ran right through him.

Rogue gasped at that moment while Sting looked at his hands in utter horror. He couldn't even touch his best friend anymore. How much more pain did he had to go through before he could finally pass on?

Turning to face each other, Rogue finally realized that Sting was a spirit who couldn't pass on. But, he had questions for his old friend himself.

"Seems like you're nothing more but a ghost of the past." A sad smile appeared on Sting's face.   
"Seems like it, yeah." Rogue snorted, turning his head away from the blonde. He wasn't able to look his dead friend in the eye.

"Why did you say those things back then? Why did you tell me you--" He couldn't say it. He couldn't ask Sting why he told him he'd loved him that fated day.

"I killed you! With my own two hands, I killed you!" Rogue looked at Sting again, making fists out of his hands.

"I know. I was there. And technically, you only used one hand." Another snort left Rogue's lips as he rolled with his eyes.  
"Even dead you make a joke out of everything."

A smile appeared on Sting's face as he walked up to Rogue, looking up at him. Rogue had grown a lot since he last saw him. He was a full head bigger than Sting now.

"Those words. I told them because I wanted them to be the last words I could convey to you before I would draw my last breath." Rogue clucked his tongue, glancing away.

"Why did you have to smile while doing so? It didn't make any sense." Sting canted his head, his smile fading away.

"Because I wanted you to know that I don't hold a grudge against you. That I possibly couldn't hate the one I love so much." Rogue placed both his hands against his ears, his face pulling in pain.

"Shut up! Don't say that! I killed you! You shouldn't love me! You should hate me!"  
"But I can't, Rogue! Hating you would destroy the last sane pieces of my soul. I can't and I won't hate you. I love you!"  
"ARGH SHUT UP!!!"

Rogue lashed out towards Sting, but only succeeded in destroying the ground. The white shadow dragon slayer distanced himself from Sting again, grabbing the sides of his head tightly as he fell through his knees. Seeing Rogue suffer like this filled Sting's soul with an unbearable pain.

Walking towards him, Sting knelt down. But Rogue refused to look at him. 

"Rogue, look at me. Look at me!" Reluctantly, the white shadow dragon slayer glanced back towards Sting. The blonde raised a hand, pointing a finger at Rogue's heart, who could only look at Sting in confusion.

"I'm right there." That statement made Rogue feel even more confused. Sting was sitting right in front of him, wasn't he? Seeing his confusion, Sting let out a deep sigh.  
"You have my Dragon Lacrima inside of you. It was once part of me. Therefore, I am right there. But, you have to allow me in there first. Or else I won't be able to protect you from the shadows that are tormenting you."

Shooting up from the ground, Rogue turned his back at Sting.

"I don't need any protection! I became one with the shadows on my own free will!"

Wrapping his arms around Rogue's waist –even though he couldn't touch him- Sting spoke in pain again.

"Rogue. I'm sorry I wasn't able to hold my promise towards you. I failed you as your best friend. Everything is my fault. If only I would have been stronger, you wouldn't have to suffer like this. If only my light was stronger, I could have kept those shadows away from you. If only I went with you that day I could have made a difference."

Rogue's breathing halted that moment. Why was Sting lamenting like this? It then dawned to him that these were Sting's regrets before he died and because he still regretted, Sting was unable to find peace. That's why his soul was still here in this world.

What kind of friend was he to put his best friend into a situation like this?

"S-Sting... I'm so sorry!" Falling through his knees, Rogue began to cry. "You've always been there for me, worrying about me and all I ever did was complaining and call you childish! How can you still call someone like me your friend?! How can you... still love me? You've always had been there for me! Even after Frosch died, you tried... but I...."

Walking around Rogue to face him again, Sting knelt down, a warm, gentle smile resting on his lips.   
"Because it was my love towards you that kept my soul sane. My love towards you kept me going but at the same time, my regrets kept me here. Rogue, all I ever wanted is to be at your side again, but I need you to accept me. Please, Rogue, let me in. Let me cast those shadows away. Let me protect you properly this time."

Looking up with a teary-eyed face, Rogue nodded.  
"Yes. Yes, I want to be with you again. I need you, Sting..."

Sting's soul lit up a bright, yellow light. Grabbing the side of Rogue's face with both his hands, Sting lifted the other's head. He was finally able to touch Rogue again. Even if it was for a little while.

Leaning in, Sting pressed his lips onto Rogue's, who on his turn pressed back, wanting to feel the warmth coming from the white dragon slayer one more time. Sting's soul was finally rid of regrets and filled with happiness. Rogue had finally accepted him again, he couldn't be any happier.

Then, Sting disappeared into Rogue's being, making a way through shadows of his heart and burned them away. Settling into Rogue's heart, Sting felt content.

_"I promise I'm going to stay here till the day we go and meet everyone else."_

Standing up from the ground, Rogue put a hand on his heart. He felt so much lighter, so much happier. He wondered if that was because Sting was happy. Whatever the reason, a smile appeared on Rogue's features, looking up at the sky.

"I'm sorry everyone. It's going to take a while before we join you all up there."

That day, that fated day, Rogue woke up as a true White Shadow Dragon Slayer

**Author's Note:**

> Disappearing into Rogue's heart counts as passing on as well in a way, right? Ah, whatever. I totally didn't cry when writing this. I totally did not!


End file.
